Twas the Night Before Christmas
by Blue Eyes Shining Dragon
Summary: SatAM-based AU. When everyone in Knothole has their letters to Santa returned, it's up to Sonic, Rotor, and the gang to figure out who made Santa mad and patch things up...or the whole Village could miss Christmas!


Sonic The Hedgehog: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas…

Author's Note: My entry for the "'Tis the SatAM Season" contest, based on a wonderful little Christmas Special you've probably never heard of called "'Twas The Night Before Christmas". I grew up with this one as one of my personal favorite Christmas Specials, and knew it simply _had _to be the story I gave the SatAM treatment. So that you have a basis of comparison just in case, you can view the Special on YouTube. I hope you enjoy my own take on it. ^_^

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Continuity Info: Set in a world analogous to the SatAM universe. That is to say, the characters and locales are the same, but there is no War with Robotnik and some particular details might be different.

_You hope_

_while I hurry!_

_You pray_

_while I plan!_

_We'll _

_do_

_what's_

_necessary 'cuz_

_even a Miracle needs a hand!_

-"Even A Miracle Needs A Hand", Joel Gray

_'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring…not even a mouse_.

Tch. Yeah right. I'd like to see that mouse not stir if he was in _my _shoes, the little…

Hm? Oh. Hey, didn't notice ya there, sorry. Don't mind me, I'm just readin' old poems aloud off my bookshelf, tryin' to soothe my nervous. As you might notice, it ain't exactly workin'. Hey, I don't think a li'l prose'd be enough to calm _you _down if _you_…oh, right. Forgot to introduce myself. Name's Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog. And right now? I'm feelin' a bit high-strung. Sal'd probably tell you I'm _always _high-strung, but this is different. This is _bad_. I mean, really _really _bad.

Don't believe me? Then do me a favor: imagine that it's ten minutes until Christmas, and everyone you care about is gonna miss out on all the fun because one of your closest friends made a _really _huge mistake. See? Bad, right? Oh, you wanna know more, huh? Well…it's a bit of a long story, 'n' right now I don't think I'm in good shape to tell it. Better get a pro. YO, NARRATOR!!!

_Yes?_

Think you could tell these guys what happened with Tails 'n' Santa 'n' all that?

_Oh. Well, sure, I might as well. Um…where do you want me to start?_

Where else? The beginning!

_Ah, yes, of course. Ahem…_

_ It all began on the first day of December, in a small, humble town called Knothole Village. A peaceful place, Knothole was nonetheless a bustling center of activity for all who lived there. There were farmers and mailmen, teachers and doctors…and clockmakers. Or more accurately, clockmaker_,_ singular. That individual position belonged to one Rotor T. Walrus, who had a truly singular gift when it came to mechanical work._ _He could construct fantastically complex clocks of every shape and size imaginable; some could play music, others could put on little shows with small wooden figurines every hour on the hour, and others still used bells and whistles of all kinds to tell the time. _

Hey, hey! Don't forget who the manpower behind all those clocks was, pal!

_ Calm down, I was getting to that. _

_ Anyway…where was I?_

_ Ah, yes, the clocks. Now, creating such fine pieces of work as Rotor did was not a task that could be achieved alone. That was why he always had help from his family. They were related by bonds not of blood, but of affection, coming from all walks of life and in all shapes and sizes. There was Sally, an exceptionally bright young squirrel; Bunnie, brave and strong rabbit; Antoine, a cowardly but kind coyote; Tails, a fox who was the youngest of the group; and Sonic…_

That's me!

_…SONIC._

Right, right. Sorry.

_…and Sonic, an exceptionally fast hedgehog. There, happy?_

As can be. Please, continue.

_No more interruptions, please? It makes it very difficult to concentrate_.

OK, OK, I'll pipe down.

_Promise?_

Promise.

_ Really?_

Would ya just get on with it?

_OK. So, all six of them-Rotor, Sonic, Sally, Antoine, Bunnie, and Tails-lived happily together under one roof in a nice large hut they had worked together to make. On that day, however, it was not as happy a house as usual…_

_ "ZUT ALORS!" Antoine yelped, running up the stairs frantically, a pile of letters clutched to his chest. "Zis ees a disaster! A travesty! A cartography!"_

_ "Catastrophe, Ant," Sally gently corrected him, helping Rotor pick out a face for his newest clock, "and calm down. Just what is the matter?"_

_ The squirrel would likely have taken Antoine's panic more seriously if he was not somewhat infamous for panicking easily and frequently. However, he quickly caught her attention by plopping the letters he was carrying down in front of her and Rotor. Both immediately noted the prominent, dark red "NOT ACCEPTED BY ADDRESSEE" stamp on the envelopes. "Huh. That's odd…" Rotor observed casually, picking up one of the envelopes and tearing it easily with one of his claws._

_ Sally watched as the walrus read the letter within silently, his eyes drifting down the page slowly but surely. As he did, the look on Rotor's face grew more and more distressed. "Oh dear…" he said aloud gently but clearly unnerved, "this IS serious. Better get the others in here to see this…"_

_ Before long, Bunnie and Sonic had joined the three in opening the returned letters. "Well now this just don't make sense…" Bunnie said, looking over one of the messages, "I _know _this letter…this is _my _letter t'Santa, I remember writin' it a couple weeks ago! But…what's it doin' back here?"_

_"Maybe there was some kind of shipping error?" Sally suggested half-heartedly._

_ Sonic…_

_ …_

What?

_Nothing, I just thought you'd jump in again now that your name's come up._

Not that I ain't tempted, but a deal's a deal.

_Wow. I'm impressed._

Yeah, yeah, just get back to yer job, bud.

_Right, right. _

_ Sonic, arms folded in front of his chest, tapped his foot solemnly. "Only one way to know for sure," he said firmly, "We head down to the Operator, get Santa on the line, 'n' ask him ourselves!"_

_ So that's exactly what they did. Or rather, that's exactly what they _would _have done if not for one small problem. _

"_Whaddya MEAN 'Santa's not taking any calls'?"_

_Sonic's incredulous yell at the Phone Line Operator was punctuated by an accusing point of the finger that went right up against the glass of the Operator's Booth. He and the others were far from alone in their confusion, either; the Phone Operator building was full of Villagers who had found their letters to Santa returned to them that morning. "I mean exactly what I said," Snivley, the pointy-nosed Operator in question, said flatly, regarding Sonic and his gathered family coolly. "Mr. Claus has left very specific instructions not to take any calls from Knothole Village until further notice."_

"_Pardon me, sir," Rotor said gently, stepping up to the glass window that separated him from the diminutive man, "but…did he say WHY he wouldn't take calls from Knothole?"_

_Snivley raised a brow at them, as if the answer to that question should have been painfully obvious. "After that letter you folks sent, I would say the better question is, 'why would he ever again'?" _

"_What in the hoo-haw does THAT mean?" Bunnie asked, unimpressed at Snivley's sarcasm. "WHAT letter? We didn't send no letter…"_

_Snivley gave an impatient groan, massaging the bridge of his nose. "That's not what Santa says. According to _him_, there was a VERY nasty letter addressed to him from this Village signed 'All of Us' in last month's edition of The Village Voice, so he's decided to leave this place off his yearly route come Christmas. Now unless you have any calls to make to people I can actually _connect _you to, I must say good day to you."_

"_But…" Rotor started to protest meekly._

"_I SAID GOOD DAY!" Snivley snapped, and slammed the shutter of his booth down with a CLANK!_

"_Oh no you don't, we're not done with you yet, pal!" Sonic shouted angrily, pounding on the shutter vigorously._

_Sally quickly pulled him away as best she could, struggling to restrain the outraged hedgehog. "Stop it, Sonic!" she urged, "Getting mad won't do us any good!"_

_After a few more moments of thrashing, Sonic finally calmed down, relenting into Sally's grip. "You're right, Sal," he replied with a sigh as the squirrel released him, "but you heard that needle-nosed jerk: all of Knothole might miss Christmas! We gotta do _something!_"_

_Sally nodded. "Agreed," she told him. "The first thing we need to do is figure out just where this mystery letter that has Santa so upset came from."_

"_Someone in zee Village must 'ave written it as a mean clank," Antoine theorized._

_Bunnie gave the coyote a gentle pat on the back. "That's 'prank', Sugah-'Twan, but ya raise a good point. Santa got that letter from Knothole's weekly publication, The Village Voice…"_

"…_and that means we can see it for ourselves in the Voice's back-issues!" Sally finished excitedly for the rabbit._

_That got Sonic grinning. "Heh…see you guys at the Archives, then!" he said excitedly, dashing off with the remarkable speed for which he was named and out of sight within seconds._

_Sally, Bunnie, Antoine, and Rotor all made their way over to the Knothole Archives, where all the Village's back issues, letters, records, and any other form of written data was kept. By the time they entered, however, Sonic was waiting for them atop a pile of dug-out magazines and papers, holding one particular copy of the prior month's_ _Village Voice in his hand. "Found it," he said smugly, sliding down the pile of papers to his friends and opening the publication up to one page in specific, "Right here!"_

_The group quickly gathered around him, eagerly looking at the letter printed on the magazine's pages. Rotor cautiously read it aloud. "Dear Santy Clause," he began, "everyone who's anyone knows that you're just a big fat phony. You're all made up like the Tooth Fairy and the Boogeyman, and only stupid little babies need made-up people to come and give them presents! Nobody here wants to be a stupid little baby, so why don't you do us all a favor and go away forever?"_

_Everyone tensed just a little as Rotor finished with a hushed, "Sincerely…All of us…"_

_There was a moment of collective silence after the letter was done. Antoine nearly fainted. Unsurprisingly, Sonic was the one to break the silence. "And THAT," he said pointedly, snatching the magazine from Rotor's grip and tossing it against the nearest wall, "is why we'll be missing Christmas this year, ladies 'n' gentlemen!" _

_Sally shook her head. "I just…don't get it. Who in Knothole would be mean enough to write such things?" she asked glumly, taking a seat on Sonic's paper pile. _

"_We just have to think this through logically," Rotor replied with cautious optimism, "Whoever wrote that letter…maybe they left clues to their identity in there without meaning to?"_

_Everyone paused in thought at that. "Whoever zey were, zey certainly zeemed a bit…over-enthusiastic…in zere objections…" Antoine volunteered after some contemplation. "Almost as if…as if zey were trying to hide zeir true feelingz."_

"_And they sure had some funny language in there too," Bunnie continued, eyes brightening a bit as the wheels in her head, and everyone else's too, began turning in their efforts to solve the mystery at hand. "Santy Claus? Not a lotta people call 'im _that_…"_

_So they sat there in thought, pondering their clues…and suddenly, it occurred to them that one of their family was missing. A family member who was very defensive about his youth. And as they noticed that, they all remembered that this particular family member had always referred to Santa as "Santy" in all the letters he'd once written in Christmases past. "Oh no…" Sally whispered fearfully as the realization dawned on them, "Sonic…Sonic, you don't think…? It couldn't be…?" _

"_I hate to say it, but it just might," Sonic replied gravely, "but we'll only know if we ask him ourselves."_

_So it was that once again all five of them marched, this time from the Archives and past the Operator's Building (still full with people demanding an explanation for their returned letters) all the way back home, up the stairs, and toward one very specific room. The room that belonged to…_

"_Tails?" Sonic called as they approached his door. "Hey, li'l buddy, you in there?"_

_No answer. Sally tried knocking, but still no answer. "C'mon, Big Guy, we just need to talk to ya!" Sonic said as soothingly as he could (which wasn't very much)._

HEY!!!

"_Hey" yourself, we had a deal, remember?_

…*grumble grumble*…

_Anyway, when Tails still did not answer, Sonic opened the door slowly, entering the room cautiously with the others not far behind. There, sitting on his bed with his back to the others, arms was Tails. "You saw it, right?" he asked them all in an uncharacteristically tight voice._

"_Yes, Tails, we did," Sally said sternly, moving to the front of the group, "and we're all very confused. Why in the world would you _write _such a mean thing to Santa, Tails? You _love _Christmas…"_

_The fox's tails twitched a bit. "I wrote it 'cuz it's true," he replied with surprising sharpness, "Santa's not real, 'n' only little baby brats think he is!"_

_Sally sighed gently, taking a seat on the bed next to Tails. "Talk to me, sweetie…" she said kindly to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "This behavior isn't like you at all…what happened to make you act this way?"_

_Finally turning to look at Sally and the others, eyes hard and face solemn, he said, "I just…figgered out that I'm too old for silly Santa stuff anymore, 's'all," he answered defensively, "I wrote that letter to prove it to Santa 'n' to everyone else in Knothole."_

"_You must apologize at once!" Antoine pleaded suddenly, "Ze entire Village could lose zeir Christmas for zis!"_

_Bunnie nodded. "He's right, Sugah-Fox…ya gotta apologize t'Santa fer what you said…"_

"_I won't!" Tails replied defiantly. "I…I meant what I wrote, every word! I won't take it back, and you can't make me!"_

_Suddenly, without warning, he leapt off the bed and went to the window, twin tails twisting together to take him up into the air and out of the house! Sally ran to the window, but she was too late to stop him. "I…I just don't understand…" Sally said softly, "This isn't like Tails at all…"_

"_Leave it to me, Sal," Sonic answered coolly, "I'll follow him 'n' talk some sense into him!"_

_Bunnie, however, shook her head. "Ain't enough fer Sugah-Fox to apologize to Santa, though…Christmas is only a few weeks away, we'd never get a letter out in time to find out if Santa got it 'n' forgave Knothole all in time…"_

"_Leave THAT part to me!" Rotor volunteered boldly. "Sally, Bunnie, Antoine, come with me to the workshop downstairs; I've got an idea…"_

_So while Rotor took the others to start work on his plan, Sonic swiftly followed his flying friend across the Village. As mentioned before, Sonic was very fast, and so he was able to track down Tails before too long, finding him sitting alone at the edge of town, gently kicking up a bit of snow, though he stopped upon seeing the hedgehog . Sonic gave the boy a firm frown as he approached. "Not cool runnin' off like that, bud…" he said, "You got us all worried, 'n' so does that letter…"_

"_I…I told you!" the boy replied defiantly, "I won't apologize for it!"_

"_Whoa, hey, calm down there, Big Guy," Sonic answered soothingly, hands up in a calming gesture, "No one said anythin' about apologizin' yet."_

_Now toe to toe with the boy, Sonic placed a hand on Tails' shoulder. "Still…I gotta say, I'm with Sal on this one: you've always really enjoyed Christmas, 'n' you always loved Santa. I remember all those times you tried stayin' up all night just to see him come down the chimney…"_

"_Exactly!" Tails cut in suddenly, "I did all that stuff when I was just a little baby! I'm…I'm older now, 'n' smarter too, 'n' I don't believe in dumb baby stuff anymore!"_

_The hedgehog tilted his head at the fox a bit. "You ain't _that _old, Tails," he replied playfully, "'n' besides, believin' in Santa and enjoying Christmas…it's not about how old you are."_

"_Then what is it about?" the fox asked grumpily._

_That got Sonic to smile, oddly enough. "Come with me," he said, "'n' I'll show ya."_

_The fox was hesitant for a moment, something clearly on his mind…but eventually he conceded and hopped up on Sonic's back. With that, they were off, the hedgehog speeding them toward his first destination: a small hut near the center of the village, where an elderly cat with gray fur and bifocals was currently wrangling one of the trees from the surrounding forest through his snow-covered yard. Keeping his distance, Sonic let Tails off his back to observe the scene. "See him?" Sonic asked the boy, pointing to the old feline._

_Tails nodded. "That's Cat," Sonic explained, "a nice old guy who's always helpin' out people who need him. Cat's gotta be at least eight times your age at this point, too, but he always has room in his heart for Santa 'n' Christmas…"_

_At that very moment, Cat managed to reach the backdoor to his home, slowly making his way inside with the tree. The two looked into his window and saw him setting it up in his living room, hanging decorations upon its branches and leaves. "He loves Christmas, 'n' he's always the first guy in town to get his letter out to Santa…well, after me, that is." _

_Before the boy could really respond, he was back atop Sonic, rushing through the village. This time, they stopped at the other side of town near where the path into the forest started, where a silver-furred wolf with a slight scar on her face sat, whispering softly seemingly to herself. Again, the hedgehog kept them far enough away not to intrude on her. "Here we've got Lupe. She's a little older than me. And you know what she'd doin'?"_

_Tails could only shake his head. "She's praying to the spirits of the forest," Sonic answered, "askin' 'em to let Santa have a safe trip over Knothole."_

_One last time, Tails was swooped away on Sonic's speeding form to the very center of town, where all number of Villagers-pigs, wolves, rams-were gathered, bustling about. Whispers of concern, of hope, of confusion fluttered around every last one. "All these people," Sonic explained with a sweeping motion of his hands at the crowd, "are adults, or teens, or even just kids your age or younger. And every last one of 'em's got one question on their minds right now: why's Santa mad at us?"_

_He took Tails' hands in his, pulling the boy around to look him right in the eyes. "All these people believe in Santa 'n' the spirit of Christmas, no matter how old or young they are. Just 'cuz you're getting' older too doesn't mean you should forget those things…"_

_The boy opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out._

"_But y'know somethin'?" Sonic continued, a bit sterner now, "It doesn't matter. Even if you _did _decide to just up 'n' forget all the good times you've had at Christmas 'n' what that means to ya, that don't give ya the right to take it away from everyone else."_

_The fox tried to keep a hardened face, but Sonic could tell he was feeling a heavy burden of guilt now. Again Tails tried to say something, and again he fell silent in the end. Sonic sighed a bit, patting the fox's shoulders. "You'll figure it out eventually, bud," he said encouragingly, "you always do."_

_Several days later…_

_Things had only gotten worse. The town was in a full-on panic, as all attempts to successfully get word out to the North Pole to apologize to Santa had failed. It was thus with baited breath that people waited to hear the results of an Emergency Meeting of the Village Council, led by Sonic's wise old uncle Sir Charles. "Any new suggestions on the table as to how we solve our Christmas crisis?" the old hedgehog asked the council members._

"_None so far, sir," a burly ram named Ari said with some regret, "but there is a local clock maker here to see you, a Rotor Walrus, who believes he might have an idea."_

"_Ah yes," Charles mused, stroking his distinguished grey mustache, "my nephew's friend. Let him in, let's hear what he has to say."_

_So Ari opened the door and in walked Rotor, a tall rectangular item hidden behind plain white cloth clutched to his chest. "Good…good evening, Mr. Mayor, uh, Sir Charles," he greeted awkwardly._

"_And to you as well, Mr. Walrus," Charles replied with a slight grin, "Now then. I hear you have a proposal as to how to mend Knothole's relations with Santa Claus?"_

_Rotor nodded, setting the clothed rectangle upon the floor in front of Charles' seat. "Y…yes, sir," he said humbly, "Y'see, if we can't get word out to Santa before Christmas, than we just have to do something on the very first minutes of Christmas to show him we still care."_

_With a yank, the cloth came off, revealing a gorgeously handcrafted Grandfather Clock with well-varnished brown paint and gorgeous gold trim. "Pardon me if this seems rude," Rosie, an elderly chipmunk, spoke up, "but…how is a clock going to do what you're proposing?"_

"_I'll show you," Rotor answered, reaching over to the clock's face and twisting its hands 'til the time read Midnight._

_As soon as it did, a gorgeous sound began to emanate from the clock…a song! Serene voices (Bunnie and Sally were hardly pros, but they had a fine set of pipes on them) joined in the tune, singing lyrics to match it:_

Christmas chimes are calling,

Santa, Santa!

Every heart recalling,

Santa, Santa!

Come on, ol' Chris Kringle, down the milky way!

Christmas chimes are calling,

Santa, we need you

Today!

_"Y'see," Rotor explained, stopping the song, "my proposal is to build a larger version of this clock and install it in the center of town. When it reaches Midnight, it will play this song for Santa to hear on his sleigh ride as he passes over us and realize we still believe in him. Then hopefully he'll come down and give us our Christmas back…"_

_ Charles observed the clock thoughtfully, listening to its song. Once the tune had faded, he rose from his seat with a misty look in his eyes. "Wonderful…" he whispered before composing himself and saying, louder, "Alright, Mr. Walrus, you have my permission to build and install your clock. If that show of affection can't reconcile Santa with us, I doubt anything else can."_

_ "Thank you, sir, thank you!" Rotor said excitedly, putting his cloth back over the clock and picking it up into his arms._

_ "You can thank me best by getting to work on the full version immediately!" Charles replied with equal exhilaration._

_ So that is exactly what Rotor did that night as soon as he got home, informing the rest of his family of the Mayor's approval and giving each of them their assignments. "What about Tails?" Sally asked with no small amount of concern, looking to the recently-returned Sonic._

_ "I left him with some stuff to think on," the hedgehog replied, "so let's just give him some space for now, OK?" _

_ Sally sighed a bit, dissatisfied with that answer, but Bunnie gave her a comforting pat on the back. "I know it ain't yer first choice, Sally-girl, but Sugah-Hog's got a point. If we put too much pressure on the poor li'l guy, he's likely to just get worse."_

_ "I just hope he'll still celebrate with us if Christmas comes…" Sally answered gently._

_ "WHEN Christmas comes, Sal!" Sonic corrected optimistically. "And he will, I know it! So let's get to work with Rote 'n' give us _all _somethin' to celebrate!"_

_ And from the stairway, hidden just behind the banister, Tails watched his family begin their task silently…_

_ So it was that Rotor, Sally, Bunnie, Antoine, and Sonic all worked together with the help of volunteers from the Village to erect the massive clock in the center of Knothole. For days and nights they labored, working tirelessly to complete it before Christmas arrived at the end of the month. One day, however, on the afternoon before Christmas Eve Day, Sonic was helping to take a bag of planks from the supply depot to the construction site, speeding along as usual, when suddenly a lone hyena garbed in a black leather coat and helmet pulled out in front of him on a motorcycle. "WHOA!" Sonic shouted, screeching to a halt just in time to avoid crashing in to the biker. "Watch where you're goin', Biker-Brain!" he said angrily once he'd stopped._

_ The hyena merely flashed him a toothy grin, not even acknowledging the comment. "So…yer pretty clock's just about finished, eh?" he asked in a gravelly voice._

_ "Yeah…what's it to _you_?" Sonic asked, not intimidated by the biker's showy antics._

_ Again, the hyena only grinned. "Here I thought that foxy friend 'o' yours would take care of Christmas for us…but I guess it's true what they say: if you want somethin' done right, do it yourself!"_

_ With that, the biker screeched away on his vehicle, leaving Sonic to watch as he plowed through the forest. "How'd he know Tails was the one who sent that letter…?" Sonic asked himself aloud. _

_ There was no time to worry about that now, though, and the hedgehog immediately resumed his rush to the Clock._

_ There were no further incidents beyond that during the Construction, and before long, the fateful day had finally arrived: Christmas Eve Day. The clock was completed at last, and just in time. Everyone in Knothole (including, Sonic noted, that hyena he'd met earlier, now with a whole pack of similarly-clothed Biker Hyenas…) had gathered around it for the grand opening. "Ladies and gentlemen," Charles called from in front of the clock's base, "there are any number of things I could say to honor all the work and love that has gone into this, the clock that will save our Christmas…but words do those things no justice. Instead, I ask Mr. Walrus, the one behind this brilliant idea, to show us the fruits of that labor and let us all take comfort in this clock's beautiful song!"_

_ That was Rotor's cue, and he followed it immediately, signaling to Bunnie, who was up at the face of the clock. "Here we go!" she called down enthusiastically, pushing the clock's tremendous hands (she always was a very strong girl) until they aligned properly._

_ Everyone watched excitedly as they heard clicking and whirring from within the clock, the music players inside of it starting to come alive…and then…_

Kerplunk.

_Kerplooey. Instead of a gorgeous song, a horrid screeching filled the air. Smoke poured from behind the clock face, and the clicking and whirring all stopped. The clock that could save Christmas was broken! "I…I don't understand…!" Rotor said in shock, "I double-checked the thing myself just this morning, it should be working fine!"_

_ The excitement of the crowd now turned to anger and frustration. Distrustful murmurs emanated from all around, and even Sir Charles shook his head in disappointment. "But…but…" Rotor pleaded, "I _know _it can work! Please, Mr. Mayor…give me a chance to fix it…!"_

_ "I'm sorry, Rotor," Charles sighed sadly, "but…the town put all its money and effort behind this. We can't afford to give any more if you can't do the job properly."_

_ And that, unfortunately, was that. The crowd dispersed, the clock was taped off and declared decommissioned, and Rotor…Rotor and his family returned home, and the mood was dreadfully sad. "Zis is it…" Antoine lamented, "…no Christmas…"_

_ "Don't talk like that, Antoine," Sally said as hopefully as she could, though she too felt that unmistakable sadness, "It's still the day before…there's still a chance…"_

_ Sonic nodded. "You're darn right there's still a chance! Right, Rote?"_

_ The hedgehog looked at the walrus expectantly. He knew if Rotor had given up, there really was no chance…but thankfully, after a moment of silence, he gave Sonic exactly the sort of smile he'd been looking for. "Right, Sonic…" the walrus replied warmly._

_ "But…at zis point, it would take a miracle…" Antoine said, cautious about joining in this new wave of optimism just yet._

_ "Then that's exactly what we'll pull off," Rotor answered. "After all, miracles don't just happen because people wait for them. If we put our minds and hearts to it, we can still do this!"_

_ So a renewed discussion began. _

_ "We could make a whole new clock!" Bunnie said._

_ "It'd have to be smaller, but if we snuck it on top of the old one…" Sally suggested._

_ "Perhaps give it bigger speakers to compensate?" Antoine asked, now willing to share in the good spirits._

_ Watching as his family began to rebuild their hopes, Sonic could not help but smile…and then he heard the faint sound of footsteps scurrying upstairs, unnoticed by the others. Silently, he followed it to its source: Tails, in the upper hallway, crying gently._

_ "Tails…?" he asked the fox softly, approaching him slowly._

_ "My fault…" Tails whimpered back, "All my fault…"_

_ Sonic smiled sympathetically, sitting down next to the boy. "I know you wrote the letter, Tails, but…"_

_ "It's not just that…" the fox sobbed, "I know who broke the clock…'n' why…"_

_ "I'm listenin'…" Sonic said, sympathy now tinged with solemnity._

_ "Those Biker Hyenas…the same ones who picked on me 'n' teased me 'cuz I still believed in Santa. They told me to write the letter to prove I was grown up! I…I overheard them talking about breaking Rotor's clock so they could finally get rid of Christmas, 'n' they saw me 'n' said they'd tell everyone I wrote the letter if I told on them!"_

_ "Tails…" Sonic said quietly, "why…why didn't you tell us any of this before?"_

_ "I was scared! And embarrassed!" Tails cried into his hands. "Sorry…so, so sorry…"_

_ Sonic put his hand on the weeping fox's shoulder. "Look, Big Guy…when you've done something wrong, it's not enough just to be sorry. You have to take responsibility for what you did wrong…"_

_ The boy tensed a bit at those words…but suddenly, his crying stopped. Slowly, he stood up, tears drying, and a look of sheerest determination on his face that surprised Sonic greatly. "Tails…?" he started to ask, but the fox cut him off._

_ "You're right, Sonic," Tails said, a hint of sadness still in his voice but now strengthened by a powerful resolve, "I've gotta take responsibility…I've gotta fix the clock!"_

_ Sonic, however, was skeptical. "Hold on there, bud, you don't know anything about fixing clocks!" he said cautiously._

_ "Maybe not," Tails answered, unwavering, "but it's like Rotor said: if we work for it, miracles CAN happen!"_

_ And without another word, the boy took off, flying out his window once more…_

Which, barring me tellin' Sal 'n' the others about it, brings us to here. Ten…no, _five _minutes 'til Christmas! No word from Tails, no sign the clock's fixed…the new clock's not ready yet either. I hate to say it, but it really does look like this is it. I just…I just wish I knew how Tails was doin'…

_Well, I do happen to be The Narrator. I happen to know what the young fox is up to._

Really? That's great! You gotta tell me!

_Sorry, that's against Narrator rules. I can only tell you things you know about yourself already. However, I can tell the audience about it…_

Awww, c'mon!

_Sorry, rules are rules._

Fine, fine…them, then. At least then _someone_'ll know…

_That I will, Sonic, that I will._

_ Unknown to the hedgehog, at that very moment, the fox was hard at work looking through the gears and grinding chains of Rotor's great clock, having snuck in thanks to his flying ability. Every so often, he would get tangled in a pulley or a rope, but he was always able to slip away unharmed and put the offending item back in its proper position…but still, no sign of where the problem was. The boy worried he might not even recognize it if he saw it. Yet suddenly, he saw something: a length of chain, stuck in one of the spokes! It looked like the sort of thing those nasty Hyenas would use…that had to be it! Immediately, he flew over to it, pulling with all its might to get it out…to let the clock work again…it was stuck quite tightly! Would he be strong enough to pull it out? His arms were tiring, but time was slipping away…he couldn't give up, he couldn't…!_

Thirty seconds left…well? Well? Did you tell 'em about Tails?

_I did_.

How is he? Is he OK? He isn't hurt, is he? And the clock, did he…

_Sorry. As I said before, I can't tell you. You'll just have to wait 'n' see…_

Well, I've never been one for waitin'! I'm going over to that clock 'n' I'll see for myself! HANG ON, TAILS!

_With only seconds left to go, the hedgehog…_

WILL YOU CLAM UP ALREADY?

_Oh! Um…_

You did your job, now leave the rest to me!

_As you wish. Best of luck, Sonic…_

Yeah, yeah, thanks 'n' all that! Hold on, bud, I'm just about…

_GONG. GONG. GONG. GONG. GONG. GONG. _

Oh no…Midnight! No Tails…no song…no Santa…and no Christmas. "Tails…where are you…?"

And that's when I heard it. As the last gong tolled Midnight…that's when I heard it. Singing, echoing across all of Knothole…coming from the clock…!

_Christmas snow is falling…_

_ Carols fill the air…_

_ But it won't be Christmas_

_ 'til Santa Claus is here!_

_ Christmas Chimes are calling,_

_ Santa, Santa!_

_ Every heart recalling,_

_ Santa, Santa!_

_ C'mon ol' Chris Kringle, down the milky way!_

_ Christmas chimes are calling,_

_ Santa, we need you today!_

I don't cry easily, but…well, I came mighty close just then, I gotta admit. "You did it, Big Guy…" I whispered, looking up at that towering clock 'n' smilin' like a big ol' dope. "You really did it…"

That's when I saw him. Little Tails, flying down from the top of the clock with a rusted old chain in his hands…and swooping right into me to deliver the biggest, strongest hug I'd ever gotten! "Way to go, Tails!" I cheered, giving him a hug right back, "I'm real proud of ya, li'l bro!"

"Did it work? Did it work?" he asked me eagerly, lookin' up at me with eyes full of hope 'n' cheer; for the first time since December started, he looked like that lovable little fox I knew 'n' loved again…

Still, I couldn't answer his question yet. Sure, he'd gotten the clock working again…but would that bring Santa to Knothole after all? Turns out, we were both about to find out…

"HO HO HO!"

No one could mistake _that _laugh. It bellowed out over the whole village, right along with that great song. Everyone who was sleeping got up, 'n' every last head in the Village poked out of their respective windows to look up into the sky.

"HO HO HO!"

Me 'n' Tails both looked up…and there he was. Flyin' through the sky on his sleigh, just like you always thought he'd look like: rosy cheeks, a big white beard, 'n' a big ol' belly, all dressed up in red 'n' white. Santa himself…

"Sonic!"

Sally, Rotor, Bunnie, and Antoine all came running up to the two of us, lookin' excited and cheerful like they should have all along. "Our li'l Tails is a regular Hero," I told them, patting my bud right on the back, "He fixed the clock 'n' got Santa to come back to Knothole!"

"Is that true?" Rotor asked, amazed, "You fixed my clock?"

"Yeah…it was the least I could do after all the trouble I caused…" Tails said guiltily. "I'm sorry, all of you…I promise, I'll never do something to mess up Christmas again!"

Bunnie laughed. "Awww that's mighty sweet of ya, Sugah-Fox…now c'mon over 'n' give us a hug, won't ya? We've missed havin' the real you around."

And that's exactly what he did. Tails shared one big ol' hug with his whole family, me included.

Overhead, Santa flew by, his job in Knothole completed with that magical speed of his he's so well known for (though I bet he ain't as fast as me) 'n' with one last "HO HO HO", he left Knothole with a special message for everyone to hear.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL…AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!!!"

**End**


End file.
